Christmas
by liliaeth
Summary: Three days of Christmas


Title: Christmas Eve(1/1)

Author:Lore

Summary: Dawn convinces Spike to buy a christmas tree

Feedback: please pretty please, please (do I really have to beg?)

Email: crossovermania@hotmail.com

Disclaimer: Don't own, please don't sue

The small glass ball held a blue shine in its core and Spike was careful not to break it as he stood on the tips of his toes trying to get it up. The needles of the tree somehow managed to get through the leather of his duster. It tickled and he almost sneezed as touched his chin. 

Finally he found a branch to add the small metal ring too.

One done, a dozen more to go.

He really wasn't a christmas kind of guy. He was a vampire for crying out loud. But when Dawn had suggested to him to get a tree, he'd only tokenly resisted. Especially after she dragged him along looking for trees.

Buffy had already bought one, and decorated it and made with the cheers. But for some reason it had been him that Dawn had come to for her holiday madness.

Buffy had looked almost sad there, for a second, before she'd grabbed Dawns hand and pulled her along back home. Spike had stood there, looking after her, one hand still holding his tree.

"Bugger this." he'd said as he'd looked at the dead pine. 

It wasn't the beauty of the store, but it had been the biggest one among the leftovers. Especially of the ones in his budget.

He wasn't about to go steal some tree, especially with Dawn around. She'd borrowed enough of his bad habits already.

He grabbed a small figure of an angel and held it in his hand, staring at it for a second.

"This is your fault you know? If you hadn't been there she'd be here with me now, snuggling up against me. Hell I might still be with Dru, sitting in front of a fire, sharing some pretty girl, draining her ..." 

The words caused an ache inside of him, the idea of killing someone, even a stranger. It really shouldn't bother him.

But then it did. The killing just wasn't fun anymore. Even if he wanted to dive right back in as soon as he'd get the chance, the fun would be out of it now. Their eyes would remind him of them too much. Buffy, Joyce, Dawn, hell even the rest of the Scoobies. It would remind him too much of how he felt when he stared at the Slayers broken body spread out on the ground after her fall.

He crushed the figure in the palm of his hand and stared at the broken figurine. 

"If you hadn't come back ... "

He growled and threw it to the wall.

"All would still be like it was. I wouldn't be in love with her and Dru would be with me and everything would be perfect."

But would it?

His hand went out to his head, wondering. 

If he hadn't lost Dru, he'd never have felt the need to find the Gem of Amara, to proove himself as a demon again.

And he wouldn't have been helpless, wouldn't have seen Buffy as she really was. He wouldn't have fallen for her.

"The soddin bitch, soddin heartless bloody came back wrong bitch who never gives a damn, can't see, soddin ..."

He went on muttering, grabbing some of the other figures Dawn had told him he needed to buy for the bloody tree. 

There was a small lamb, a few more balls, some more of them branches and all kind of stuff that was so abstract he couldn't make sense of them. But Dawn had said they were funny. 

"She's just using you mate." 

A voice said inside of him.

Frigging thing was, he knew it. He'd known from the start. She just wanted to feel, he just wanted to love. But it hurt more than he could ever have imagined. To have her, yet not. 

He'd gotten his hopes up again. Much too soon and much too painfilled.

When she'd looked at him during the sex, when she'd kissed him, grabbing his lips with her own. He'd thought he had her then, but he hadn't, not really. She'd left him again, the bitch had taken over again as soon as morning came.

She'd used him to scratch an itch and he was all too quick to relent and let her. But not anymore, not ever again. 

He was his own man, well vampire. 

He didn't need her to be happy.

So why did it hurt so bleeding much?

He stared at a small doll with two small blond braids. Just like Buffy. He held it carefully in his hand and placed a soft kiss on its forehead as he slowly put on top of the tree.

He closed his eyes and took a step back to look at his tree more closely. It was big and green and filled with all kinds of reds.

He brushed his hands together, ready to leave it alone, only to find the christmas lights still spread on the ground. 

The vampire groaned and was ready to throw his hands in the air. No way that he was going to start all over again. So how hard could it be to still put it in. He took some of the cords, throwing it over the tree, wincing as some of it struck back in his face. He stood on the tip of his toes trying to reach the top of the tree again, one more inch, something was going wrong, he took a step more pulling the cords up, feeling them slide past his legs. Bloody silly junk.

He should just leave it out, but Dawn had chosen them. They'd probably drive him crazy, the Bit would. She'd probably have him singing Jingle soddin bells within the week if she were concerned.

He pulled it up one more inch and felt the cord tie around his legs. They were a mess weren't they. 

He looked up as he heard a sound coming from outside and turned around as he heard the door slam open. The cord pulled around and he slipped down, feeling his hand slip under another cord tying him up as the top of the cord was already solidly clinging to the branch he'd so carefully bound it earlier. 

That tree was not going to come down on him, the hell it was. But it was too late and he held it up, cursing as it all landed on top of him., binding him even more tightly in the cords of the lights. He looked up from beneath the tree and stared up at a soft girlish chuckle.

The more he cursed, the worse the girls laughter got and he glared up at her.

"Oh come on Spike, why don't you just pull yourself free."

"And ruin the soddin tree? Not a chance in hell." he muttered, trying to pull loose and failing to do so without putting to much a strain on either the cords or the rest of the tree.

Dawn got closer, ready to try and help. Within a matter of minutes, she was as tied up as he was.

"Who invents these bleeding things? Some soddin chaos demon?"

"Maybe if you just," the kid tried to think for a second before she broke out laughing again. Spike couldn't see the fun in it.

He tried to grab for her, pulling the cords even tighter. 

"Oh Jesus. What more could happen?"

Has there even been a question more likely to bring up the woes of fate? Of course not. 

"Oh gee, a christmas gift all wrapped up and me here with nothing but my little friend overhere."

Spike twisted to see who was at the door, only to see Buffy standing there twirling a stake between her fingers.

Why won't she just stake me and get me bloody rid of it all?

He tried to stammer something out, ready to say something and felt the cord pulled between his lips. This was humiliating. Pure and simple.

He expected the Slayer to laugh at his misfortune, or to say something else equally scathing about his taste of decoration. But instead she just sat down and slowly started searching for the beginning of the cord. It bloody well tickled. He tried to be all manly and stay stoic and unresponsive. That lasted about a microsecond.

Buffy groaned and pulled out the end of the cord, the part with the plug attached to it. She slowly pulled the cords loose, knitting out the knots. Spike sat down, looking up at her as she untied the last part still holding his legs. She was hanging over him, her face so close to his. He was this close to touching her. Then she grabbed him and pushed him to the ground, kissing him.

He resisted for a moment before giving in to the moment. Then the reality of the situation came back to him as he he heard Dawn squeal in joy. Buffy let go of him and seemed almost ashamed.

"Slay ... Buffy?"

"I shouldn't." 

She didn't step back though, kneeled, her legs bent under her. 

"I just ... why do you have to feel so good Spike. Why does the only thing in this life that actually makes sense to me have to be the one thing I'm supposed to hate."

Spike wanted to say something scathing, but looking at Dawn he knew he couldn't do that. Instead he stayed still, allowing Buffy to get a grip of herself, terrified of the return of the bitch, as it always happened whenever she'd dared give in.

Dawn got closer to Buffy, holding her hand. Spike stared at them, barely reacting as the bit took his hand as well.

They just sat there, holding on. Not making out, not with Dawn in the room, yet somehow that one moment of silence they were closer than ever before.

And it was then that Buffy gave in, crying. Letting her walls down fully and crying for all she'd lost.

Her mom, her last hope at a normal life when Riley left. Her own death. And last of all the loss of heaven.

It was uncomfortable to see her like that. Yet showing a trust that meant more than a thousand 'I-love-yous'.

Dawn and he just sat there with her, not hugging, not touching. Just being there ready for whatever she wanted.

The gentle silence wasn't broken any further. They finally got up together and lifted the tree in unspoken agreement. 

Dawn gave Spike the blond shepard girl that had fallen to the ground and Spike put it back in the tree feeling Buffy's eyes on his back.

"Spike? Will you be here for me?" Spike just nodded and let her fall in his arms, loosing her last sobs in his embrace.

She didn't leave that night. Neither did Dawn and as the night came to an end Spike stared at the two girls lying in his bed holding on to one another.

He planted a kiss on both their foreheads and laid down on the rug right behind the bed.

"Don't worry my ladies. The big bad's here to protect you all through the night."


End file.
